never have said the things The Voice does. She loved me unconditionally, as Antonio does. To her, I was her perfect little girl, and I just know that if she were alive now, she’d be proud of me.
I know what I want to say to Antonio. It’s there in my heart. I know how I feel, but I’ve been scared to tell him. Scared to take the risk that he’d find me inadequate, only second-best. In my words and actions I’ve walked the tightrope of caution, flirting at the edges sometimes but always returning to toe its narrow line. Afraid he’d reject me.
But this is Antonio. I’ve chosen a man who, in the important ways, resembles my mother. I’ve chosen a man who helped me find my mother again, and now I have a treasure trove of loving memories to draw out, one by one, for examination.
But this isn’t the time for the past. Now it’s my future that’s on my mind.
I hold my breath, waiting for The Voice to tell me what to do. I hear only silence, but it’s a warm, enveloping silence, throbbing with a sense of expectancy.
And suddenly I’m sure. I smile across at him. “Antonio, I love you.”
It takes him a moment to react and I hold my breath. Was I wrong, after all? But then he begins to smile. That smile takes over his entire face. His eyes sparkle and crinkle at the corners, his mouth grins wider and wider. Then he’s out of his chair, coming around the table. “Ah, Leslie, my darling. How long I’ve waited for you to say it. To realize it.”
As he embraces me I hug him back. “I’ve been a fool.”
“No, no, my love. You just needed your mother’s blessing.”
* * * * *
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Look for the other volumes of Sweet Indulgence s, which will be issued each month through 2014.